Thursday, September 14, 2006

Cons break leaky condo crisis

* The headline should be Cons break leaky condo crisis promise. If I edit the headline it will screw up the aggregators.

If you haven't lived in B.C.'s Lower Mainland you might not have heard of the province's leaky condo crisis. But trust me when I say in Vancouver, in Victoria, and elsewhere in the province, it's a big deal.


And it was a big deal during the last election campaign, when Stephen Harper promised during a campaign stop in Victoria to conduct a review into the role the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC), a federal agency, played in the affair and any potential culpability the government might share in the $1.5 billion affair. He even dangled the promise of compensation to entice voters.


Now that they're in government though, chalk that up as another Conservative broken promise. According to the Vancouver Sun, because of court actions filed against the CMHC, Human Resources minister Diane Finley says there won't be a review for now, and she can't comment "while these matters are before the courts."


Sounds reasonable enough. I mean, the courts are the courts, after all. But just one small thing. The court actions were ALREADY UNDERWAY when Harper made his election promise. So the Conservatives promised a review to the people of B.C., knowing full well because of pending court cases it couldn't actually happen.


But as I've written previously the Harper Conservatives are willing to say anything, dishonest, misleading or otherwise, to gain a few more votes. Accountability indeed.


Tories shelve promise on leaky condos
A review of the CMHC's role and culpability has been shelved
Peter O'Neil, Vancouver Sun
Published: Thursday, September 14, 2006

The Conservative government has shelved its election promise to conduct a review into a federal agency's role and potential culpability in B.C.'s $1.5-billion leaky condo crisis, according to a letter sent by Human Resources Minister Diane Finley to a homeowners' group.
(more)

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

6 comments:

Walks With Coffee said...

As a resident of Victoria I wondered about the leaky condo promise from the Garden City... Garden city tories seem to be behind a lot of misleading BC CPC politics - from aborignal affairs to leaky promises.

wilson said...

"A Conservative government will enforce these standards and work with the provincial governments to ensure that all homes are safe, healthy, durable and energy efficient. In keeping with that commitment, a Conservative government would be committed to reviewing CMHC's (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.'s) handling of construction regulations and British Columbia's 'leaky condo' fiasco."

Maretic also said that Prime Minister Stephen Harper was reported, during a news conference held in Victoria on Dec. 18, as saying that his government would consider compensation for those affected by the leaky condo crisis.

She also said leaky condo owners and housing consumer advocates have not forgotten the BC Liberals' 2001 throne speech, which included this promise from Premier Gordon Campbell: "My government will work with the federal government in pursuit of a fair program of relief for owners of leaky condos."

hmmmmm
In 2001 Campbell made a promise to work with the then Liberal Federal government on this problem. What happened?? Surely 2 Liberal governments could have done something in 4 years !!

Jeff said...

The reason the Liberals weren't able to act Wilson is the same reasons the Cons can't now: pending court cases.

The difference? The Liberals didn't make promises this past election they knew they couldn't keep, the Conservatives did.

Anonymous said...

Your right Bcer, the cons made the promises so they should uphold it.

But then again you are a liberal so I'm sure you can wait 13 years for this.lol(thats my useless partisan shot of the day)

Anonymous said...

The Liberal caused much of the problem when they created the original nation energy program. They changed the federal standards for building envelopes and our leaky condo situation was born. Before this time our building would breathe and dry. With the NEP standards buildings were put in zip-lock bags and now when moisture got in, it stayed.

Lolly said...

Anonymous 1:12
Excuse You! You blame the NEP, what propaganda you are eating.

A BCer,leaky Condo's are not just an isolated building phenomena, they also have the Leaky Condo problems in the US of A, in California it has been a problem for decades. No NEP in that country.

The big news about the False Creek and Victoria problems just spiraled to the top of the charts with all the (then) media coverage.